HROMEK : Dances from Old Narnia Part One: a )Pavan b) Volta c) Galliard d) Courant : Irish Suite After O’Carolan : a) Sir Arthur Shaen b) Hewlett c) Clergy’s Lament d) George Brabazon : Three English Ballads a) My Bonny Bonny Boy b) The Drowned Lover c) The Crystal Spring : Dances from Old Narnia Part Two a) Rondo 1 b) Rondo 2 c) Pavan 2
Michal Hromek ( Guitar) , Rene Vacha (Viola and Violin) , Petr Chlouba ( Drums) , Hana St’astna (Recorder and Crumhorn), Michael Verner (Crumhorn) , Jan Jouza ( Violin) , Radek Krizanovsky (Violin) , Sona Lhotkova (Cello) , Vacal Sykora ( Flute) .
Bonton PRCD 1316
This very interesting CD is full of wonderful music all written by Hromek himself. As you can see he has a good number of other musicians helping him here. The opening set of Dances from Old Narnia part one, in four movements, is very Renaissance/early Baroque in style and beautiful music it is. The following Irish Suite After O’Carolan again in four movements is again extremely convincing as a copy of O’Carolan’s style and a great deal of care and attention has been given to make this music sound convincing and authentic. All the melodies are memorable and the other performers really do help to make these pieces lovely to listen to. The Three English Ballads are again every bit as lovely as the previous tracks, My Bonny Bonny Boy being particularly appealing, but the other two pieces are very English folk sounding and I can only marvel at how good Hromek manages to write pieces that are fabulous copies of the composers he is emulating. The final Dances From Old Narnia Part Two, in three movements is a fine conclusion to what has been a lovely album to hear, and one that a huge amount of people will absolutely love to hear.
So if this performer’s music sounds, from my review, to be something you might like, then give it a listen because it really is worth getting and adding to your collections.
Chris Dumigan
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